The Devastations @ Rics Bar,08/10/05

Mon 10th Oct, 2005 in Gig Reviews

This time last night I was thoroughly enjoying myself to the dulcet dark and at times soaring, sonic sounds of The Devastations, swaying quietly in a corner with probably less than a hundred people at Rics, for entirely different reasons.

Totally different, but equally enjoyable!

About six months ago I was privileged enough to see The Devastations at the same venue. Unfortunately, in that instance, it was a public holiday and Rics was subjected to an onslaught of less than respectful audience members in the packed house. This time around the appreciative punters were a lot better off.

There was a lot more room throughout tonight, to the point that some decided they should sit on the floor, albeit in the thoroughfare. The week before The Devastations sold out in Melbourne. Last night, they played with Rowland S. Howard supporting Gentle Ben and His Sensitive Side to a comfortable crowd at the Zoo so I thought everyone would be out in force tonight. Not so and the non-attendees were the big losers.

This low-key affair was the launch of The Devastations newest offering, Coal, the follow up to their critically acclaimed 2003 self titled debut.

Delivering a nice balance of tracks from both albums, plus some nice covers, The Devastations are more than comfortable with the small confines that are on offer. The intimacy of Rics allows an up close and personal account of some of the most achingly beautiful and at times pleasantly brutal songs you could wish to hear.

Personal favourite, Previous Crimes comes out early in the set and unlike the previous night’s gig at the Zoo, I manage not to ‘get something in my eye.’ Just. Conrad Standish’s Cave-like vocals (and looks) are delivered in a wonderful mahogany tone that most will only ever aspire to. Loene is served up a little higher, vocally, than the recorded version but there aren’t any complaints about that. Other standouts from the debut release include the haunting Hold Me while the disturbing, macabre atmosphere created by Under is instantly recognisable.

Tom Carlyon gets to exhibit his wealth of six string skills in tracks like Under, although for a large part of the night the Jaguar was down to five and at times the backup was called for. Regardless, Carlyon’s guitar mastery shows up a lot more in tracks from Coal as opposed to those from the debut and in a live setting he seems to add an extra dimension to the whole package. His foot-skills around the pedals would do a Brazilian number 10 proud! He shows a passionate abandon with his Fender along in a similar vein as Ben Fetcher.

Sex and Mayhem and I Don’t Want To Lose You Tonight are delivered with beautiful harmonies throughout, highlighting another of Carlyon’s talents: his voice. Indeed, he delivers lead vocals on several tracks from the new album, a role that he has no difficulty in filling.

Softer tunes like title track Coal allow for a more subtle rhythm section and give Standish the chance to shed the bass before Carlyon takes over the vocals to deliver Terrified in his attractive Kato-ish style.

Standouts from Coal are The Night I Couldn’t Stop Crying, What’s A Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This and Take You Home. Again these tracks offer Carlyon the chance to shine with the guitar and he does not dissatisfy, coaxing a series of what-the-fuck- noises from it, leaving many a punter in awe.

After a quick beverage break they return, to say, “this’ll be interesting” before entering into a bright cover of Bowie’s China Girl.

They finish the night with a chilling version of the Beasts Of Bourbon’s The Low Road, something I have been waiting to hear for some time. I was not let down.

No disgruntled patrons tonight. All on hand seemed well happy and appreciative of what they had just witnessed.

I leave the venue dry and pleasantly uplifted, compared to saturated and exhausted from my gig two weeks ago. Completely different gigs, both equally rewarding.

Considering that they spend a lot of their time overseas, I feel privileged to have seen The Devastations four times in the last six months. I hope that I am lucky enough to see them as many times in the next six!